The Federal Reserve can change interest rates up to eight times a year, at each scheduled meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, but how often it actually moves rates depends entirely on the economy. In some years the FOMC changes the federal funds rate at nearly every meeting; in others it holds steady for twelve months or more. As of January 2026, the target range sits at 3.50% to 3.75%.1Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. FOMC Minutes – January 27-28, 2026
The Eight Scheduled Meetings Per Year
The FOMC meets eight times a year on a calendar published well in advance. Meetings are spaced roughly six to eight weeks apart and each runs two days, with the rate decision announced at 2:00 PM Eastern Time on the second day.2Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Federal Reserve Issues FOMC Statement – December 2025 The 2026 dates are:3Federal Reserve. Federal Open Market Committee – Meeting Calendars, Statements, and Minutes
- January 27–28
- March 17–18
- April 28–29
- June 16–17
- July 28–29
- September 15–16
- October 27–28
- December 8–9
Four of those meetings (March, June, September, and December) also produce a Summary of Economic Projections, which includes the dot plot showing each participant’s forecast for where rates should sit at the end of the current year and the next several years.4Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Summary of Economic Projections, December 2025 That gives markets a rough forward view of where the committee thinks rates are heading, though projections are not commitments.
Eight meetings is the practical maximum for scheduled changes, but the Federal Reserve Act only requires four per year and places no cap on additional sessions.5Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Federal Reserve Act – Section 12A, Federal Open Market Committee
How Often the Fed Actually Moves Rates
The gap between how often the Fed can change rates and how often it does is wide. The recent cycle shows the full range.
In 2022, the FOMC raised rates at seven of its eight meetings, with four of those hikes coming in 75-basis-point jumps. It was the most aggressive pace in decades, driven by inflation that peaked above 9%. In 2023, the committee slowed to four hikes, all in quarter-point increments, as inflation eased. By late 2024, the direction reversed: three cuts, including a 50-basis-point reduction in September and two 25-basis-point cuts to close the year. Then in January 2026, the committee held rates steady at 3.50%–3.75%.1Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. FOMC Minutes – January 27-28, 2026
A quarter-point move is the default increment, but the committee will go larger when conditions call for it. Holding rates unchanged across several consecutive meetings is also common, especially when the data is ambiguous. Anyone asking how often the Fed changes rates should expect the honest answer: it depends on the year.
Emergency Changes Between Meetings
The FOMC can also change rates outside its scheduled calendar, though it rarely does. The committee can convene by conference call and vote the same day when waiting weeks would risk serious damage to the economy.
The clearest recent examples came in March 2020. On March 3, the FOMC cut the target range by half a percentage point in an unscheduled move.6Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Federal Reserve Issues FOMC Statement – March 3, 2020 Twelve days later, it cut again by a full percentage point, bringing the range to 0%–0.25%. The 2008 financial crisis produced similar action. In both cases the emergency cuts came alongside other liquidity measures, including expanded access to the discount window.7Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The Discount Window
Because these moves arrive without warning, they trigger sharp reactions across stocks, bonds, and currencies. The signal is part of the point: the Fed views conditions as serious enough to break its own routine.
What Determines Whether Rates Change
The FOMC’s mandate is maximum employment and stable prices, established by the Federal Reserve Act.8Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Federal Reserve Act Every decision to move or hold turns on how the data line up against those two goals.
Inflation
The committee’s preferred inflation gauge is the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, and its longer-run target is 2% annual growth by that measure.9Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Why Does the Federal Reserve Aim for Inflation of 2 Percent Over the Longer Run? Officials give special weight to “core” readings that strip out food and energy, since those categories swing on supply disruptions that monetary policy can’t fix. Inflation running persistently above 2% pushes the committee toward raising rates; inflation well below target pushes it toward cuts.
Employment
Monthly payroll figures, the unemployment rate, wage growth, and job openings feed the committee’s read on the labor market. A tight labor market with low unemployment and fast wage gains can push prices higher, which tilts the committee toward holding or hiking. A weakening job market with rising unemployment works the other way.
The Neutral Rate
The committee also thinks about the “neutral” rate of interest, the theoretical level at which policy is neither stimulating nor restraining the economy. It can’t be observed directly and must be estimated, so participants sometimes disagree about where it sits. When the actual federal funds rate is below neutral, policy is accommodative; when it’s above, policy is restrictive. The gap between the two shapes how aggressive the committee needs to be.
Market Expectations
The FOMC does not operate in isolation from what traders expect. The CME FedWatch tool tracks the probability of upcoming rate changes based on 30-day federal funds futures prices.10CME Group. CME FedWatch When futures markets price in near-certainty of a cut or hike, the Fed rarely surprises in the other direction. Watching FedWatch in the weeks before a meeting gives you a reasonably reliable preview of the outcome.
How Quickly a Rate Change Reaches You
The mechanical implementation is fast. Once the FOMC votes, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Trading Desk adjusts its operations to push the effective federal funds rate into the new target range,11Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Operating Policy Statement Regarding Treasury Securities mainly through overnight repurchase agreements and reverse repurchase agreements. The discount window’s primary credit rate moves in lockstep, since it has been set at the top of the target range since March 2020.7Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The Discount Window
Commercial banks typically adjust the prime rate the same day or the next business day. From there, the change flows downstream at different speeds:
Credit card APRs, most of which are tied to prime, follow within one or two billing cycles. Adjustable-rate mortgages don’t reprice until their next scheduled reset, and the new rate is calculated by adding a margin to an index such as the Constant Maturity Treasury rate.12U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. FHA Adjustable Rate Mortgage Fixed-rate mortgages don’t track the federal funds rate directly at all; they respond more to yields on long-term Treasury bonds, which reflect broader expectations about future rates and inflation. Savings account yields at high-yield banks and money market accounts tend to follow the federal funds rate, though the timing is looser and less predictable, and traditional savings accounts at large banks barely budge in either direction.
So while the FOMC can change the target rate as often as eight times a year, and can act between meetings in emergencies, the pace in any given year is set by inflation, employment, and the committee’s read on how far policy sits from neutral. Some years bring near-continuous change, others bring none.